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Saturday, April 25, 2009

This past Sunday thru Tuesday Peter and I took off to Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond Oregon. We get to reap the great benefits of my parents being members of a timeshare and have really never had a hard time getting away when we've wanted too. We were very fortunate that the days we chose to go had a great weather forecast! We have always enjoyed our time away together and it seems like the last few trips we've taken just get better and better and we enjoy our time away more and more!

I haven't been to Eagle Crest in many years and this was Peter's first trip to the resort. The area has changed quite a bit and I am amazed at how many homes are in the area now. Eagle Crest has many activities to keep you busy and with us only being there for two nights we barely touched on them!

We did go on a couple of hikes and we did the putting course which is unique! We also relaxed quite a bit and I spent a lot of time in the jacuzzi tub! I love the jacuzzi tub!

Here are some pictures of our trip. Redmond is surrounded by mountains and with the weather being clear it was very pretty since most of the mountains still had snow on them!Lots of pretty birds!

We didn't see too much wildlife but we saw lots of bunnies!!!

On Monday morning we decided to go on a short hike. We intended on being out for about an hour. We read the maps and we intended on looping around the resort. Well, what we didn't know was the maps were inaccurate and so we were not on the trail we thought we were. We continued down this wrong path for quite some time before we decided that maybe we should turn around. Before we turned around Peter ran ahead to see if maybe this path looped around. It did not and after an hour and a half of hiking we turned around and walked the hour back to our condo. So we learned some valuable hiking lessons - take water, take a map, and wear sunscreen.Lots of cookie cutter houses!

My favorite - Jacuzzi tub!!!

The kitchen of our condo

The living room!

The putting course is basically a miniature golf course that we enjoyed trying out

Saturday, April 18, 2009

I will admit it - I am stalking Harrison Ford! Anyone who knows me knows that I am slightly obsessed with Harrison Ford. Fortunately I have a good sport of a husband who is not jealous and is actually making quite the accomplice. So I have loved Harrison for a long time and I was excited to find out a few months ago that he would be filming a movie in Oregon! Little did I know just how close to home this would be filming! Harrison Ford is literally probably 10 minutes away from me at this very moment! We have done our best to catch a glimpse of him, but with filming just starting to pick up we have plenty of time to try and scout him out! I have snapped a few good pictures of filming. This picture zoomed in shows them filming a shot:

This is at base camp. They are in the processing of building some sort of structure

Something else that we have been working on now that the weather is getting better is teaching the dogs agility jumps. They both are getting the hang of it now, but Indy is still more entertained by the whole thing then Juno is. Juno prefers eating grass to jumping through hoops.

We also have them working on the tunnel. Juno isn't a huge fan of the tunnel.

Peter decided to fill the hot tub to see if it can actually hold water (it can) and then decided to try to figure out if the dogs can swim. Indy can but Juno was in and out of the water so fast that we couldn't really tell.

We are really looking forward to getting out of town tomorrow. We are going to Eagle Crest for a couple of nights. The weather is supposed to be in the high 70's and 80's so it is going to be perfect - can't wait!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Things are still moving in the Keyser household. I can't say that we have a whole lot to report on our end. We are still asking for prayers so please keep them coming! We are definitely still trusting in God and know that he has a plan to carry us through.

So on the job front: Peter has a second interview with the company in Portland on Thursday. Thursday is quite the day for him as he will be taking his 3rd CPA exam and interviewing. KPMG also notified him of an opening in Syracuse New York that he has applied for and we shall see what happens with that. We know God will make do what is best for us and that is a very nice thing to know. We do have our moments where we are nervous and anxious, but we have faith. I feel like we are on the verge of something great for Peter and I can't wait to see what happens! Peter is extremely talented and anyone would be lucky to have him added to their team! I know without a doubt that Peter is destined for greatness!

I am still busy at work but they have also notified us that tomorrow they will be making a decision to force 3 of us to move to swing shift. I would get a 9% raise, but Peter and I would never see each other (I guess if he goes to Syracuse it wouldn't be a problem). I have no idea what the criteria is that they are basing their decision on, but if they base it on family situation then I am as good as gone. I have faith with that too and trust in God's will.

We are very much looking forward to this weekend. We had saved money to get away for a couple of days after busy season and we are still planning on doing that. Seriously, getting away and having some fun together is just what we need to do. I am looking forward to a couple days away from the stresses of work and worries of life for a few days at east.

We are enjoying the time we have together right now knowing that it will be short lived. We are doing a lot of reading - Twilight, New Moon, Job (coincidentally that was the book in the Bible we were reading when Peter got laid off) 41 Days to the Work You Love. We've been enjoying our time in the evenings watching movies together. We have also picked up one of Peter's favorite pastimes - jogging. One of Peter's life goals is to run a marathon in under 3 hours and I just want to reach the goal of a 5K ;) We plan on running a 5K together this summer and we figure now is as good of time as ever for Peter to start the process of training for a marathon. We are getting back in shape and we really actually enjoy working out together! I also do a fitness program on the Wii and now that Peter is using it with me I am enjoying it more - he is very funny when he tries to work out and keeps me laughing through it all.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

So I read this article on yahoo. I guess maybe three years of marriage isn't enough time maybe? So here are 7 things that I did not know about marriage:

1. You will look at the person lying next to you and wonder, Is this it? Forever?Actually, it is. You just didn't realize it the day you and your guy were cramming wedding cake into each other's faces, clinking champagne glasses, and dancing the Electric Slide. Back then you had no idea that "for better and for worse" doesn't kick in only when life hands you a tragedy. Your relationship mettle is, in fact, most tested on a daily basis, when the utter sameness of day-in/day-out togetherness can sometimes make you want to run for the hills. That's when the disappointment sneaks in, and maybe even a palpable sense of loneliness and grief. It's not him. It's just you, letting go of that sugarcoated fantasy of marriage that danced in your eyes the day you and your beloved posed in all those soft-focus wedding photos. You're learning that marriage isn't a destination; it's a journey filled with equal parts excitement and tedium.

I certainly do not think Peter and I went into marriage with our eyes shut to reality. We were only 20 years old but we certainly knew that life together would not always be easy. In fact we both know that God has blessed us more then we deserve. Whenever we go through one of those "in sickness and in health" moments - we get frustrated and we get upset but we always grow so much closer together in the tough times. I know that in the future we will go through much harder times then we have gone through at this point in time, but I know I will never want to go through those things without Peter by my side. I have never second guessed my decision to marry Peter - NEVER!

2. You'll work harder than you ever imagined.Early on, when people say, "Marriage takes work," you assume "work" means being patient when he forgets to put down the toilet seat. In your naivete, you think that you will struggle to accommodate some annoying habit, like persistent knuckle cracking or flatulence.If only it were that easy.Do people seriously think this when they are making a lifelong commitment? Again, I would say that marriage does take work and that we are constantly "working" to be a better spouse but I seriously went into marriage thinking it would be way more work and a lot less fun then it is. One thing that we do is we get a daily email - mine is from the generous wife.com and Peter's is from the generous husband.com that gives us tips on simple ways to "work" on blessing our spouse.

3. You will sometimes go to bed mad (and maybe even wake up madder).Whoever decided to tell newlyweds "Never go to bed angry" doesn't know what it's like inside a bedroom where tears and accusations fly as one spouse talks the other into a woozy stupor until night meets the dawn. If this scenario sounds familiar, I've got three words for you: Sleep on it.You need to calm down. You need to gain perspective. You need to just give it a rest. I've found that an argument of any quality, like a fine wine, needs to breathe.

I get the logic behind this advice, but come on who can actually fall asleep angry? We've gone to bed with some unresolved issues, but neither one of us can sleep when we are mad. We bicker a lot but we don't usually fight with each other in general. We would rather stay up all night fighting then try to sleep mad. I have also noticed that the longer we have been married (only 2 1/2 years) the less we tend to fight and the more we discuss and just plain let go of the small things. We don't want to fight, we don't want to go to bed mad and we can usually talk things through pretty quickly and get to the root of the problem.

4. Getting your way is usually not as important as finding a way to work together.I can be a bit of a know-it-all. There, I said it. It's really not my intention to be hurtful or brash with people I love. It's just that a lifetime of experience has taught me that in most areas, at most times, I am right about most things. What shocked me several years into my marriage, though, was the realization that the more "right" I was, the more discontented my husband and I were as a couple. See, oddly enough, throughout his life Genoveso has been under the misguided impression that he's right most of the time (go figure!). So we'd lock horns -- often. That is, until I learned a few things.

Namely, that when it comes to certain disagreements, there is no right or wrong -- there is simply your way of looking at things and your husband's. "I used to be very black-and-white earlier in our marriage," says Lindy Vincent, 38, who lives in Minneapolis. "Now I see that I'm not all right and my husband is not all wrong. There's more gray in life than I thought, and that's taught me patience and the value of compromise."

I do agree with this one. Peter and I are both so stubborn that we will rarely see that the other person is right. It does no good for us to argue, so we just agree to disagree and respect the others opinion.

5. A great marriage doesn't mean no conflict; it simply means a couple keeps trying to get it right.Maybe you think that because of my newfound wisdom, Genoveso and I never fight anymore. Ha! As important as it is to strike a balance, it's also important to have a big, fat fight every now and then. Because when you fight, you don't just raise your voices; you raise real -- sometimes buried -- issues that challenge you to come to a clearer understanding of you, your man, and your relationship. I wouldn't give up our fights for anything in the world, because I know in the end they won't break us; they'll only make us stronger.

This just doesn't work for us. If we are really fighting Peter ends up getting really mad and says hurtful things just to be mean and I shut it all off and don't talk. We have a much easier time getting to the root of the problem through normal conversation then we do while we are fighting.

6. You'll realize that you can only change yourself.Ever seen the '80s sci-fi cult classic "Making Mr. Right?" When the stylish heroine, played by Ann Magnuson, is hired to teach a robot how to act like a human, she seizes the chance to create a perfect guy. A hotshot commercial whiz, she uses her marketing prowess to shape John Malkovich's android character into her personal version of the ideal man -- sensitive, eager to please, and willing to listen.There is a bit of that makeover fantasy in all of us -- something that makes us believe we can change the person we love, make him just a little bit closer to perfect. We may use support and empathy or shouts and ultimatums, but with dogged conviction we take on this huge responsibility, convinced we're doing the right thing.Whatever our motives, the effort is exhausting. Transforming a full-grown man -- stripping him of decades-old habits, beliefs, and idiosyncrasies -- is truly an impossible task. And you will come to realize, sooner than later if you're lucky, that it is far easier to change the way you respond to him.

For me this was a dating mistake, not a marriage mistake. I went into marriage accepting Peter for who he was. There are many ways that he has become a better person and I do love that, but I did not expect him to change and I am certainly not the one responsible for that change in him. We do try to better ourselves, but we accept each other the way we are.

7. As you face your fears and insecurities, you will find out what you're really made of.That's the strange beauty of marriage: It's full of hard times and hard lessons that no one can ever prepare you for. But in the end, those are the things that give richness to your life together -- and make your love even deeper and stronger than when it began.

I think Peter and I were evidently more prepared for marriage then we thought. We had great marriage prep. We had an 18 month engagement and I think we encountered a lot of the newlywed difficulties during that phase of our relationship but the wedding was not the first thing on our mind while we were engaged. We read numerous marriage books together to prepare us for what we were going to experience in marriage. I think we went in with our eyes wide open, and having a pretty good idea of what it would take to succeed. We are almost 3 years in to this journey and I have to say that even in the midst of this tough stuff we are dealing with right now - we are happy and marriage has been overall much easier then we anticipated it being. I look forward to many many many more years of this and I trust that when the really tough stuff hits us that we will make it through together.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

First things first - Last weekend was Juno's first birthday. She already has way to many toys so we decided to make her a cake instead of buy her something and in my opinion the cake turned out awesome and the dogs loved it!

Juno's First Birthday CakeOur big Birthday girl!

Yum Yum

Juno's loves Birthdays!

The other pups get into the fun. The dogs were all so full that they had to go outside for awhile before they were able to finish it. Indy's tummy was huge after eating!

In other news:

Things appear that they might be looking up for us in the future. I don't want to disclose too much but it does look like Peter may have a job opportunity in May. It sounds like it would be a great opportunity for him to continue on in a career in tax (which is first and foremost for him). The company would pay for him to go and get his Master's degree which is something that Peter really does want to pursue after getting his CPA and avoiding that additional cost would be great - Dave Ramsey would be so proud :) They would also allow him to come in early and leave early, which would be nice for avoiding rush hour traffic and Peter is up when I go to work anyway. We continue to pray that God makes his plan clear to us. Peter is studying many hours a day (when he is not running to and from Portland for interviews) and is a few weeks away from his next test.

Good news for my job! Things are finally starting to pick up and I would not be surprised at all to find overtime in the very near future for me. I know a lot of departments are starting to see overtime. It is really nice and reassuring to be busy again. I am working on a project at work right now which consumes the majority of my time and I am really enjoying it. I have at least 4-5 more weeks with it too.

The dogs are doing good. We are in the process of making an agility course for them. Peter made a jump and a tire jump for them out of PVC pipes. We wanted to make them so that Juno would get some exercise. She loves going to our churches playground and running around so we figured she would really like this. Yesterday we went up to Portland where Disney is having their closeout sell right now where close out Disney merchandise is 50-90% off. The sale didn't open until 3:00 so in the meantime we stopped by Toys R Us and we found dog agility stuff for sale there. Most of the parts were made out of PVC anyway so Peter just decided to make his own. As it turns out Juno is not so much a fan and Indy picked it up pretty quick. Indy will do anything for a treat and he had no problem doing what we wanted for food. Juno on the other hand preferred running around on her own pulling grass out of the lawn over jumping hoops for treats. We will keep working with her as the weather permits and she'll get it eventually. She can't let her brother one up her! Our master plan includes tunnels and teeter-totters and other things to keep her busy, but we'll take it one step at a time!